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Michael Douglas' ex-wife is told her 'Wall Street' case should go to California

November 17, 2010 | 7:23
pm

If Michael Douglas' ex-wife wants to find any more money on "Wall Street," she'll have to go looking in for it in California, a New York judge has decided.

Diandra Douglas sued her ex on the East Coast, claiming in her case filed Aug. 24 that the terms of their divorce meant 50 percent of his earnings from this year's "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" belongs to her — because it was a "spin-off" of the his 1987 hit film, made during their marriage.

Whether that argument is valid didn't enter into the judgment released Monday, however. It was more about location, location, location.

"After balancing all competing interests and factors, the California court is the more convenient forum for this matter to be tried," New York state Supreme Court Justice Matthew F. Cooper wrote. The Douglases' divorce deal — she divorced him in 2000, and he married Catherine Zeta-Jones later that year — specified that any future money issues would be duked out in California, though both exes now live in New York.

Michael Douglas, who went public Aug. 16 with his fight against throat cancer, was "thrilled" with the decision, his lawyer told E! News.

Photo: Michael Douglas and ex-wife Diandra Douglas leave a federal courthouse in New York on April 20, 2010, after attending the sentencing of their son Cameron Douglas on drug charges. Credit: Justin Lane / EPA.